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Cyanide Traps Are Unreliable And Dangerous - We Must Ban Them!

Since 2008, 230 dogs have been unintentionally killed by these indiscriminate traps. Don't let your pet be next!

Goal:30,000•Progress:7,891

Sponsored by:The Animal Rescue Site

The United States Department of Agriculture is responsible for maintaining and conserving our nations farmland and natural resources. And while there is little call for biological warfare in its oversight, the USDA's Wildlife Service still regularly deploys deadly and indiscriminate cyanide traps in an effort of animal control.

According to the Humane Society of the United States, Wildlife Services was responsible for killing almost 34 million bears, bobcats, coyotes, mountain lions, wolves between 2004 to 2013. The department relies on traditional traps and snares to keep wildlife clear of private property, crops, and livestock, but in some cases animals have been shot from helicopters or airplanes, poisoned, killed in their dens, and killed with cyanide gas.

M-44 traps look similar to underground sprinkler heads, but explode a cloud of orange sodium cyanide dust when manipulated. Along with severely injuring an Idaho teenager named Canyon Mansfield and killing his dog Casey on March 16, Wildlife Services' M-44 traps have been recently responsible for the deaths of pets in other states as well. The Washington Post reports that Max, a 2-year-old German Shepherd, was killed by an M-44 trap in Utah in 2006. Bella was killed by a similar trap in 2011, not more than 1,000 feet from her Texas home.

The USDA maintains that 230 dogs have been unintentionally killed by M-44 traps since 2008. Livestock and other pets have lost their lives, too. All it takes is a vertical tug on the device to set it off. The sodium cyanide reacts with moisture in the animal's mouth, releasing hydrogen cyanide gas. Animals covered in the gas die within 5 minutes, but the death is anything but painless, as recent stories have proven.

Wildlife Services agents are equipped with amyl nitrate antidote kits, and wear heavy protective clothing when deploying the devices, as the deadly effects of cyanide gas are well known. And while the USDA yet claims that the devices are only ever installed on private property at the behest of the landowners, M-44 traps have draw criticism from every level of the U.S. legislature.

Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) wants to at least keep taxpayer dollars from funding the traps, as he says they're ineffectual and sometimes illegal.

"The recent death of dogs in Idaho and Wyoming are the latest unnecessary tragedies of USDA's Wildlife Services use of M-44 cyanide traps," DeFazio told Fox News. "These deadly traps have killed scores of domestic animals, and sooner or later, they will kill a human."

DeFazio is expected to revise a bill from 2008 that would ban Wildlife Services' use of M-44 traps and bring it before congress this year.

Sign the petition to urge the USDA to ban cyanide traps immediately and completely. There is no telling what or who may be injured by these cyanide traps next!

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The needless death and injury caused by the USDA's Wildlife Services use of M-44 cyanide traps costs much more than such animal control methods are worth, and must be stopped immediately. The people of the United States, asking for their own safety, and that of their families, implore you ban M-44 traps today.

Along with severely injuring an Idaho teenager named Canyon Mansfield and killing his dog Casey on March 16, Wildlife Services' M-44 traps have been recently responsible for the deaths of pets in other states as well. The Washington Post reports that Max, a 2-year-old German Shepherd, was killed by an M-44 trap in Utah in 2006. Bella was killed by a similar trap in 2011, not more than 1,000 feet from her Texas home.

The USDA maintains that 230 dogs have been unintentionally killed by M-44 traps since 2008. Livestock and other pets have lost their lives, too. All it takes is a vertical tug on the device to set it off. The sodium cyanide reacts with moisture in the animal's mouth, releasing hydrogen cyanide gas. Animals covered in the gas die within 5 minutes, but the death is anything but painless, as recent stories have proven.

Wildlife Services agents are equipped with amyl nitrate antidote kits, and wear heavy protective clothing when deploying the devices, as the deadly effects of cyanide gas are well known.

It begs the question, Secretary, why are these devices still allowed to used on our own land?

There is no excuse for mounting chemical warfare on the people and animals of the United States, but Wildlife Services agents continue to do so. Please halt the use of M-44 traps categorically. There is no telling what or who may be injured by these cyanide bombs next!

Jul 28, 2018BROOKE SMITHSUCH A TOXIC GAS (CYANIDE)SHOULD NOT BE USED/MANUFACTURED WITHIN THE U.S.-SUCH A DANGER TO PEOPLE, PLANTS & ANIMALS ALONG WITH THE ECO DAMAGE ARE WELL DOCUMENTED! BAN THE M-44 AND ALL USAGE!